Over went the overalls, the buttons were fastened, the pigtails were tied, the boots were laced, the face was washed. Jovi was ready for the Egg Festival, but before she could head to the town square, which was a fairly long walk from her house by the river, she had to water her turnip plants. They were definitely bigger today, which made Jovi excited. She doused them with the clear water from the watering hole near the back of her property and threw the watering can inside. Finn yelped when it clattered against the footboard of the bed. Jovi was off, walking briskly down the stone path, towards the plaza.

"Chee! Chee!" A piping tweet from the side of the road caught Jovi's too-easily-caught attention. It was a sparrow, still young and very soft by the looks of it. It shook its downy head atop a nonexistent neck and hopped off, further into the trees.

"Aw!" Jovi cooed and she began to trail it. It took her past two ranches and up into the mountains, around some trees, over a boulder or two, and across a bridge. Finally, Jovi tripped on a weed for the billionth time. She shrieked as she took a dive face-first into the dirt. The sparrow panicked and disappeared into the brush. Jovi lay there for a moment, her nose burning badly.

"Are you alright, there?" A deep voice entered her ears. Jovi looked up. In front of her, clutching a fishing pole, was a young man with blue eyes like hers and brown hair fixed back in a ponytail. He had a kind face and he smelled like nature. He stretched out a hand. Now, Jovi's nose only burned half as badly as her cheeks as she took his hand and was pulled to her feet.

"You took a pretty nasty spill," he said. "Those weeds are everywhere and they're easy to trip on if you aren't careful."

Jovi averted her eyes. She translated this as him calling her clumsy.

"I-I'll be more careful next time," said the girl quietly.

"Don't worry about it. I'm Ray," said the young man named Ray. "What's your name?"

"Jovi. I just moved here." She gained the courage to look at Ray as she spoke. "On the Exciting Ranch Plan."

"Is that right?" Ray smiled warmly. "The whole town's talking about you. I'm pleased to meet you, Jovi."

"Likewise, I'm sure." The smile was returned. A moment of merely happy faces glowing was spent. Then Ray stepped forward and brushed Jovi's face with his soft fingers.

"Hold on, you got a bit of dirt on you." Jovi was frozen and she knew that her face was doing a rather splendid job of impersonating a ripe tomato.

"T-thank you," she said after Ray had removed all the soil.

"Don't mention it."

"So… You fish?" It was a somewhat rhetorical question, Jovi thought, to ask a man who carried about a fishing pole.

"Yeah, fishing is my life," explained the fisherman. "I've been trying to catch this one fish folk here in Flower Bud Village call 'The King', but he hasn't taken my bait yet. He's said to be the biggest fish for a hundred miles around. I think I'm the only one trying to catch him. Others have just given up, but I'm sure I can do it if I'm persistent."

"You definitely will catch him," Jovi guaranteed. She took an imaginary globe in her hand and gave it a shake. Then, she studied it for a second before saying, "All signs point to yes." She grinned from ear to ear.

Ray chuckled at her make-believe magic eight ball.

"Oh snap!" Jovi suddenly exclaimed. "The Egg Festival! I got so side-tracked, it's probably going to start any second!"

"The Egg Festival? I was just on my way there, now." Ray shifted his pole from one hand to the next and held out the unoccupied arm to Jovi. "Would you accompany me to the festivities, fine lady?"

This made Jovi blush again. She took Ray's arm.

"It would be my pleasure, good gentleman."

The two walked down the hills and twisted around the stone pathways, Ray steering Jovi away from approaching weeds, until they reached the town square. A banner had been erected at every entrance with eggs and egg products displayed in vibrant colors. Jovi thanked Ray for escorting her and went to chat with the mayor, Theodore.

"Jovi!" Theodore's short round figure bobbed with joy. "It's been a while! How is life on the farm?"

"It's great, Mayor," replied the new rancher. "I'm really enjoying living in Flower Bud. We never had anything like an egg festival in the city."

"Well, prepare to be pleasantly surprised." The mayor swept a chubby hand through the air, motioning to dozens of tables with rich, crumbly pastries, eggs cut and made fancily with different ingredients, and just plain white, perfectly oval eggs. "Enjoy!"

Jovi scanned the courtyard and found Jamie all by his lonesome in a corner with a large batch of shiny eggs. She skipped over and he scowled at her.

"What do you want?"

"Just wanted to say hi," Jovi said. "You have a lot of nice eggs, there. How many chickens do you have? Is it hard to raise chickens? What are their names? How many eggs do your chickens lay on average?"

Jamie winced as he was assailed by questions.

"Leave me alone." He turned his back to the curious girl.

"You know, you don't have to be a scrooge." Jovi's voice was shockingly vinegary.

"I'm not a scrooge. I just know who I don't like. And I don't like you."

"I come over to greet you and I compliment your eggs and you treat me like scum. Brilliant, Jamie, just simply brilliant."

"I don't have anything to say to you, little girl," lobbed Jamie. "Go away."

The 'little' part really hit home in Jovi. For her entire life, she had been picked on because of her size. She was seventeen years old and she still looked like a ninth grader. Jovi was furious and she had a sudden desire to smother Jamie's face with one of his own eggs, but she simply gave him a look of disapproval and walked away. It was a better response.

Jamie sat on the sidewalk in front of a tree, chewing a delicate piece of cheesecake. It was delicious, but it made him a bit worried since it was from a rival. He peered across the plaza and stared as Jovi dashed up to that idiot fisher, Ray, with two plates of pudding. He watched them sit beside each other and count down, then take the first bite at the same time. Simultaneously, their faces lit up at the taste and they began to ramble on about the dish. Suddenly, inside his rib cage, Jamie felt a dull ache, something he had never felt before. He sniffed the cake and decided it was not the cause of the twinge and, from his many years of becoming accustomed to working on his ranch, he knew it was not a muscle cramp. He set his fork down on his plate and gulped. Was it… Could it be… jealously? No, no. It couldn't be. Jamie didn't get jealous. He had everything- abundant crops, the title of the best rancher in Flower bud, and he could see Carlos, Arthur, and Billy- so there was nothing he could really be envious about… right? He leaned back and plucked a little green stem with a bit of fuzz on the end of it, sticking it between his lips. He nibbled on the end of the plant until the mayor announced that the Blue Skye Ranch was the winner of the competition and that the Egg Festival was officially over. He stood up, heaving a mellow sigh. He gathered his eggs and headed toward one of the bannered entrances. Unluckily for him, Jovi and Ray were standing under it, saying their goodbyes. He yanked his hat lower over his face, but even if they ignored him, he could not ignore them.

"I had a really good time, today, Ray," Jovi was saying.

"Me too. I hope we can hang out again," was Ray's reply.

Jamie's mouth tightened into a grimace.

"Good luck catching 'The King'." Jovi was twirling a strand of her yellow hair. This made Jamie's face steam. He walked faster and soon escaped the sound range of the conversation. After putting his sack of eggs away, he scuffled over to the well where he got water from. He removed his hat and splashed some of the spring-tainted lukewarm water onto his face and dried off with his poncho. Not bothering to don his hat once more, he knelt and petted his dark-furred dog. He smiled a little, forgetting about Jovi for a split second. But then…

"Hey, you don't have your hat on." Jamie bolted upright at the sound of her voice. She was leaning on his fence, touching his property. "You look… nice… with it off. I can see your face better."

He frowned and snatched his cowboy hat from off a fence post and thrust it onto his head.

"Don't you have any respect? This is my land and you're intruding." He pointed to a sign to ward off trespassers. Jovi yanked her elbows from off of his fence.

"Whatever floats your boat, Jamie. I just wanted to show you this." She held out her hand.

"Received for attending the Egg Festival." Jamie's eyes widened as the little note in Jovi' hand spoke in a cheery voice that reminded him of the feeling of seeing a newly laid egg. "Let's make delicious food with eggs. A note for the wonderful smell." It flickered and was gone.

"Not too shabby, huh?" Jovi slid her hands into her overall pockets. "I'm getting better at earning them. The Harvest Goddess will be free in no time."

Jamie shook himself out of a daze and glowered, saying, "You can't possibly free her. You're too unfocused. You don't take all of this seriously. It's not a game, you immature numbskull."

"Sticks and stones, Jamie, darling," she said as she skipped away. Jamie let out another one of his signature humphs.

Back in her house, Jovi stretched. It had been a long day and she had met a new boy who she now had developed a small crush on. Also, she had gained another note and attended her first Flower Bud festival.

Dear Diary, she wrote.

Today was fantastic. My turnips are growing quite nicely. They'll be ready to harvest really soon.

The Egg Festival was today, and, well, me being as ADD as I am, I got distracted by a birdie and followed it all the way up into the mountain, where I face-planted in front of a fisherman named Ray. He helped me up and, much to my embarrassment, cleaned dirt off of my face. Disgraceful, I mean, really! Why can't I do anything right?

Well, everything turned out okay. Ray is a swell guy and he walked back to town with me. We even sat by each other and ate pudding. My friend, Elle, the one who gave me the puppy, won the egg-judging competition. I was really happy for her. Also, I was a bit happy that Jamie, in fact, did not win. He really is a heartless good-for-nothing meaner most of the- no, all of the time. But later on, when I came home, I saw him smiling, with his hat off, petting his dog. It pulled at my heart strings, and, even though he was incredibly rude to me, even after I complimented him, I feel a bit of a soft spot for him. He's like the Grinch who Stole Christmas; he may seem grumpy and unpleasant on the outside, but inside, there's a different him waiting to bubble forth. It's only a matter of time, and I intend to help that inner personality along the way, whether he likes it or not.

Getting late, now. Another day, another dol-uh, I mean, note.

~Jovi

The rancher girl scooped her dog, Finn, up and stuffed him under the blankets. His fur was warm against her skin. He crawled up and stuck his nose out of the linens, snorting a bit. Jovi giggled and gave his snout a nuzzle with her own nose, which was feeling load better now, before turning over and shutting off the light. She drifted off to sleep, her mind floating with thoughts of pudding, blue-eyed fishermen, and plans to change a poncho-wearing bully.